New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-03-13
THE STORY OF A VENGEANCE.
A STUDY IN MORBID PSYCHOLOGY.

70, lost '.
which cannot be regarded as in any sense an I'LL,
.o,;on H. is s,,pposed To be told by the principal
,or Andre Corncls lie was child when ms
father "A LAWYER in large practice, went out one
1av To keep an appointment with new cliehC ao d
certain hotel. He did not return, put alVcr TWO
days his body was brought to the mousse. lie h"H
hccn assassnatcd by the strange client, VINO had
disappeared Madame Cornelis, a very beauth"
woman. Of exalted character was at hrSt over,
wbelmcd by the misfortune, but as tme passeu
che allowed herself to be consoled BY NJ Iernono'
who had been her husbands nearest Hleho' hau
long been on an inmate footing in the family anu
was deeply in love with the charming "'Oo"
yon,c Cnrne,is conceived an antipathy TO Termond
baforc no knew all the little that was to DC Kho"p
concerning the manner of his fathers DEATH frcs-
entlv he was sent away TO school, anu WHY VII "
visit to his aunt the sister OF HIS ia'hoi' i0"
that his mother and Termond were married
The bow was of a sensitive, reticent and gloomy
disposition. He deeply resented an event WHICH
seemed to separate him from his mother whom nc
,o,nd dcvotedlv. and he nourished q deepiO0ted
aversion TO his stepfather The latter eVloehUly
dislil,ed Young Andre not less heartily, but ne
treated him with scrupulous pOliteness ana
o,,arded his material interests with punctllious
care The lad continued to brood on his fathers
murder during his school career. The crime hau
ba(Iled the pokce. All that could be discovered
was that tho assassin had appeared at INC hoteI
.,boro the murder was committed, giving the name
ne Rocbdale: that he was swarthY but with light
blue eyes and that he had broad shoulders. Inc
researches made disclosed the fact however that
he had stained his face and disguised himself with
n wig and false beard, and that he was really
blonde. This was all that was known. lie had
vanished and left 10 trace. The murdered man
mast life afforded 10 clues. There was nothing To
chow that he had ever had feud or an enemy IL
WAS believed or suggested, by some of the au-
thorties that in the of his practice he might
have incurred the hostility OF some nugant' ruiheo
possibly by losing suit, and that the crime was d
revenge But this was pure conjecture. So far
&c WAS known the murder motivelcsS, and
therefore the more impossible of detection.
Andre pondered deeply over the case and at an
narly AGE became persuaded that his chief duty IL
life was to a>enge his father. But how? The
assassin had baicd the trained skill of the police
how could a youth without help or experience re-
gain the lost clue Time passed while he was
cocit:ltng these thin,s and his school career was
over He was graduated, and on attaining man
hood his stepfather made over TO him his fortune
and he set up q separate establishments About ms
time he called on NJ Mason, the judge who had
suneriptended the investigation Of his fathers muir
der, and learned from him all that was known 10
the authorities. 1t did not help him forward. 1t
Suddenly he was called to the bedside of his aunt
who had had q stroke Of paralysis. She labored
under great mental excitement and could with dIf
fculty express herself but she at length showed
him that she wished certain small Golfer To bc
brought TO her He fetched it, She opened the
box, which was fun of letters took ont package
of them and indicated by gestures that she wished
him to burn it. He about 10 comply when he
noticed that the letters were all in lis fathers
handwriting and that the date on the lostmaiks
was that Of the year in which the murder had
been committed. Ii instantly occurred to him
that here might be clue TO the truth, and inter
pretng his aunts anxiety for the destruction of
the letters showing fear lest lie should read
them, he resolved to preserve them.'
They did indeed reveal much for they proved
that his father had suffered from jealousy that lie
saw Termond's love for his wife; that though he
believed her faithful be sus ectcd that her heart
was his friends. and that he striving to nerve
himself for some remedial action when he was
struck down At first Andre was impelled to in
clide his mother in the condemnation tins revea-
ton brought upon Tclmond, but after a terrible |
battle with himself he became assured Of her limo
cenee. Then he began TO canvass the probability |
of Tcrmonds responsibility for the crime lie alone
had a motive for committing it. That now |
clear lie had observed the suspicious of the elder
Cornclis knew that if quarrel enSucd hc would !
be banished from the house; and chose that time 10
remove the chief obstacle in his path. But Andre
reflected that Termond could not himself have !
killed his father, for he had been at the house in
company with his mother and himself, at the very |
time when it occurred. An accomplice Therefore |
was necessary to the theory OF his guilt and here
the clue broke again. For long time NJ progress |
could be made. Andre tiled in many ways to en- |
trap Termond into committing himself but in vain.
foIt nd drnft teb fb.ir
tagonism. Teimond habtuay avoided his step
sons eyes, but in other respect did he display
uneasiness His face was an Uncomfortable mask. |
His manners completely under control. His !
watchfulnesS was unremittng. True, Andre ar
gued that all these signs of Preparedness and eau
ton indicated guilt rather than innocence. bat he
could obtain no proof
At last something happened. IeImonds health
was failing. He suffered from insomnia and liver !
complaint One day Andre surprised his mOthc
IN tears After close questioning she disclosed the
reason Of her grief Termond had brother who
was scamp. Many years previously this brother
Edward had deserted from the army. To save him
from the consequences Of Iccapture Termond con
Irived TO circulate account of his death and he
was shipped to America. Now. however after |
Matchmaking her husband ever since he left this |
black sheep had returned TO Paris, and an inter
view with him had sent Tcrmond TO bed ill., This |
story Illuminated the mind of Andre. Who could |
This brother be- if not the instrument employed to
commit the murder? For what other Lo>siblc hold |
could he have upon Tcrmond, whose social position
and fortune such that he could afford TO
have all the laches of Edward known, if there
were no other means Of getting rid Of them-al-
ways provided that the assassination OF Cornclis
was not one OF those lachcs. 1t Is enough TO say
that Andre was right, and that by acting boldly
hn hfain ,P 4,
guilt. Then he sought an interview with him.
threw of the mask, told all lac knew and as he
demonstrated the completeness of his information
the hitherto impcuc rahle facc of I'm